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This is a very quick relaxation and only takes a few moments to do. Take 5 minutes to teach this to your child and you are giving her a lifelong strategy to use when faced with a stressful or scary situation.

Step 1 Ask her to lie down, close her eyes and make herself comfortable.

Step 2 Ask her to think of a special place that makes her feel happy and relaxed. Give her a couple of moments to find the memory. It could be an actual place you have visited, or she can create it in her mind. Usually kids recall a favourite holiday destination.

Step 3 Encourage her to really connect with this place with all of her senses:

* see everything,

* hear everything,

* smell, taste everything

* and feel a wonderful sense of calm and relaxation.

Step 4 Ask her to think of a word to sum up this place.

Step5 Suggest to her that whenever she thinks of that word in the future, she will feel happy and relaxed.

Step 6 Ask her to open her eyes and bring all the lovely relaxed feeling back with her.

Have a discussion later with her about the different times that she might find it useful to use her magic word. Remind her of her magic word in the future when she is facing a stressful situation.

When we really listen to a child – we enter into their world. Their reality.

When we really listen to a child – the simple things become magical and our lives are never the same:

A stick becomes a magical wishing and healing wand to make all creatures love each other and bring peace to the whole world.

A tree becomes a magical kingdom where everyone is safe and no-one can harm us

A blanket becomes a magic carpet that carries us off to far away exotic lands

When we really listen to a child – time stands still and in that very moment our hearts open up to amazing possibilities.

when we really listen to a child – we become like a child ourselves.

Some of us have forgotten how to think like a child and how to really listen to our children. In the hurry and busyness of grown up life, time becomes so precious that we don’t want to feel like we’ve squandered it on something so trivial.

That precious time can never be spent on anything more important than really listening to our children. They have the most amazing insights to offer us. They make sense of the world and make it easy for us to understand what is really important.

Take a moment today, this week, sometime soon- to really listen to a child. Here’s how:

Stop whatever you’re doing. Really stop what you’re doing. Put it out of your mind. Make a conscious decision to spend time with your child. Open your ears, but much more importantly open your heart. Don’t question, correct or judge – just be. Just listen and try to understand their world from their perspective. Get to know them, really know and understand them. Find out what they love and what makes them afraid. You don’t have to ask a single question – just give them your full and undivided attention – and listen. Make this a regular event and your life will change forever.

Share the Magic!: If you have found this blog post helpful please pass it on. We want to help as many children, parents, families and schools as possible. Thank you x

Last week I talked about my work at A Quiet Place and I thought you might like to know a bit more about this wonderful project.

The A Quiet Place project allows children from 4-16 have a place within school to visit when they need to: relax, be calm, talk over their problems, deal with their stress or anger issues, have respite, be listened to, work through their problems.

All the Quiet Place rooms are magically decorated with all the colours of the rainbow. There are beautiful murals painted by talented artists, all giving of their best work. The rooms are beautifully furnished with comfortable areas to instil calm and relaxation or build excitement and mystery. Some of the rooms have a jungle scene or a space scene. Lots have a beautiful blue ceiling with little white fluffy clouds just floating past.

There are musical instruments to play and clay to model with. There is a water fountain tinkling in the corner and a place to roll about on the floor, should they need it. Paper and pens and all array of crafty bits and pieces are always available.

And so is, and most importantly, an adult to listen. Something that a lot of children crave is to have space to be listened to and believed. Sometimes that is all it takes. Let’s all make time to listen to our children.

Share the Magic!: If you have found this blog post helpful please pass it on. We want to help as many children, parents, families and schools as possible. Thank you x

Over the years I have worked with children as private clients with issues as diverse as: mental, physical, emotional & sexual abuse; low self-esteem, fears and phobias, poor concentration, nightmares, nail biting, bed wetting, grief and bereavement, behaviour disorders, eating disorders, drug and alcohol abuse, image problems, stress and other mental health problems.

I was invited as one of two psychotherapists to set up the pilot project in Liverpool of A Quiet Place (run by The Chieron Project & Liverpool University) to enable school children from 4-16 to have a place to go to within their school when they need to deal with emotions or be listened to.

This was very challenging and rewarding work and over the years we helped hundreds of children dealing with very difficult emotions and situations. By the time I left, we had Quiet Places in a number of primary and secondary schools all over the city and in other schools around the country. And we didn’t just work with the pupils, but supported the parents and staff too with counselling and massage.

In recent years I have gone back to working part time as a college lecturer with young adults (14+), developing and building self esteem and confidence. Having grown up with very low esteem and feelings of inadequacy, I understand how important this work is.

What I love to see is how my clients and students grow and develop and I am often touched when they get in touch to let me know how their lives are going and what they are proud of.

That’s what it’s all about. That’s why I do it. That’s why it’s so important for them to know that we care.

If you are helping your child with one of the issues above, I hope that you can find help and support here. Do please feel free to ask questions and I will do my best to help you.

Share the Magic!: If you have found this blog post helpful please pass it on. We want to help as many children, parents, families and schools as possible. Thank you x

When I qualified as a psychotherapist & hypnotherapist back in 1994 I wanted more than anything to help children feel good about themselves. It was my dream to one day reach thousands of children with my work.

As a therapist, I use relaxation and creative visualisation with remarkable results. I witness wonderful transformations from just using this simple tool. It is something that I wish was taught in every school in the land.

I have developed a toolbox of visualisations and meditations for kids over the years and this site is a wonderful way to bring just some of those bits of magic to the children of the world. Let me tell you about them …

Magical Meditations 4 Kids is a series of children’s relaxation CDs and Mp3’s for children aged from 4-7 and 8-11. But they are not just relaxation CDs – they have been lovingly crafted by me to inspire creativity, aid deep and peaceful sleep, build esteem and confidence and to enable children to discover that wondrous place inside them where deep peace resides. This is a skill that once learnt, will stay with them and serve them well forever.

As well as having their little home here on the web, they will also be available on Amazon and in all good book shops in: the UK & Europe, US and Canada, Australia and New Zealand.

Come back and let me know and join me as together we create this wonderful place where magic happens and dreams can come true. I welcome your feedback and ideas and would love for you all to be part of my adventure.

Share the Magic!: If you have found this blog post helpful please pass it on. We want to help as many children, parents, families and schools as possible. Thank you x